Method and device for bonding pourers to flat-topped parallelepidal cartons filled with free-flowing products

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method of applying pouring elements to flat-gabled packages filled with free-flowing products, where the pouring elements are glued to the individually conveyed and sealed packages, where a fully automatic application operation is possible, where trouble due to improper positioning and incomplete gluing of the pouring elements is reliably prevented. In addition, it is desirable to prevent packages not having the pouring elements attached to them from leaving the gluing station. This is accomplished by the following steps: horizontal conveyance of successively arranged packages standing upright, separation of the packages and introduction of the separated packages into a gluing station depending on the presence of a pouring element, applying adhesive to the pouring element and gluing and pressing the pouring element to a predetermined area of each package.

The invention relates to a method of applying pouring elements to cuboidflat-gabled packages filled with free-flowing products, where thepouring elements are glued to the individually supplied and sealedpackages and an apparatus suitable for [carrying out this method],having feed equipment for conveying the packages and the pouringelements and having a gluing station.

Cuboid flat-gabled packages are known especially as retail units forbeverages in general. Depending on the size and contents of thesepackages, there is a need for providing such packages with reclosablepour spouts. On the one hand, this is for hygiene reasons, and on theother hand it is also done to make it possible to keep the contentsfresh for a longer period of time and also prevent any loss of taste oraroma, A previously described flat-gabled package having such areclosable pour spout is known, for example, from European Patent332,800 B1 or WO 92/18394. With the previously known packages, thepouring element is applied to the package which has already been filledand sealed, so the top side of the package has a perforation in thelaminated material to facilitate the penetration of the opening part ofthe pouring element in the actual operation of opening the package. Todo so, the pouring element must be applied to the top side of thepackage exactly above the perforation.

It can be seen readily that gluing the pouring elements to the packagesmust be done very carefully to maintain the exact position as well asachieve a reliable bonding so that the pouring element will not pullaway from the package and thus the desired freedom from leaks is alsoguaranteed after opening the package.

Therefore, the object of the invention is to embody and improve on themethod defined initially and the corresponding apparatus so that fullyautomatic application operation is possible, while reliably preventingproblems due to improper positioning and incomplete gluing of thepouring elements. In addition, it is desirable to prevent packages fromleaving the gluing station without the pouring element sealed in place.

This object ia achieved with the following steps with regard to themethod according to the definition of the species of claim 1:

horizontal conveyance of a succession of upright packages,

isolation of the packages and introducing the isolated packages into agluing station, depending on the presence of a pouring element,

applying adhesive to the pouring element, and

gluing and pressing the pouring element to a predetermined area of eachpackage.

The horizontally conveyed packages are preferably arranged in successionin the longitudinal direction. Hot-melt adhesive is preferably used forgluing the pouring elements.

With regard to the respective apparatus, the object on which thisinvention is based is achieved by the fact that a conveyor chain movinghorizontally is used to guide the packages at the bottoms; a separatorisolates the packages, and an entraining element with a number ofdriving elements is provided for conveying the isolated packages; acarrying chain with a number of carriers for the pouring elements isarranged above the entraining element, with the spacing between thecarriers corresponding to the spacing between the driving elementsarranged on the entraining element; the gluing station has an applicatorelement for applying the adhesive, and a detector is provided fordetecting the proper presence of a pouring element in the pouringelement carriers conveyed to the gluing station.

Thus, according to this invention, a package is always cycled into theentraining chain when a pouring element is "waiting" in the transferposition. This reliably ensures that a package also leaves the gluingstation with a properly applied pouring element. The packages leavingthe gluing station can thus be packaged fully automatically withoutsorting out packages that do not have a pouring element. There cannot beunintentional disturbances in operation due to downtime for cleaning upexcessive or improperly applied hot-melt adhesive due to the fact thatthe metered amount of hot-melt adhesive is always correct due to themethod according to this invention and the apparatus according to thisinvention.

In another embodiment of the invention, the separator has a brake unitfor stopping the conveyed packages on the moving conveyor chain and anacceleration unit for accelerating the conveyed packages on the movingconveyor belt. This has the advantage that the conveyor chain whichsupports the packages at the bottom can continue to run at the samespeed so that further conveyance of the packages toward the front on theconveyor chain in the apparatus is guaranteed even when the brake unitis operated. At least two conveyor belts that act on the side walls ofseveral adjacent packages can be provided as the brake unit. The brakeunit thus not only has the function of braking the packages but alsoserves as a side guide. Due to the embodiment with conveyor belts, whenthe brake is not operated, it also serves as a conveyance device thatcan be driven at the same rate of conveyance as the conveyor chain toprovide gentle conveyance of the packages.

According to another teaching of the invention, a pair of verticallyarranged separating rolls is provided as the acceleration unit. In thisway, it is possible at a low construction expense to accelerate theneighboring packages on the conveyor chain to the conveyance speed ofthe entraining element and thus separate them.

According to this invention, at least one entraining belt with forcedfeed of the packages at the back faces by means of entraining elementsdesigned as entraining fingers is also provided as the entrainingelement. It is clear that an entraining chain or similar device may alsobe used within the scope of this invention.

It is especially expedient if the conveyance speed of the entrainingelement is greater than the conveyance speed of the conveyor chain andif the conveyance speed of the acceleration unit is greater than theconveyance speed of the brake unit. Therefore, the brake unit need beactivated only when no pouring element is being supplied.

As mentioned previously, the pouring elements conveyed individually andtaken up by the pouring element carriers with their bottom side(=adhesive side) facing up are conveyed to the packages from above inthe gluing station.

In another embodiment of the invention, each pouring element carrier hastwo clamps that can be spread apart against a spring force to hold andrelease the pouring element. In addition, each pouring element carriermay have at least one pressure element for pressing the pouring elementonto the top side of the package to permit gentle pressing of thepouring element against the package--already sealed and thereforeflexible--immediately after application even before the release of thepouring element.

The pouring elements coming from the known isolation and aligning unitare not coated with the proper amount of adhesive until shortly beforebeing brought in contact [with the package]. According to anotherteaching of this invention, a known applicator roll is used for thispurpose.

It is also expedient if the separator, the entraining element and theconveyor chain or carrying chain are designed to be adjustable in theirgeometric dimensions to be able to glue the pouring elements ontopackages of different sizes. Thus, with a single apparatus according tothis invention, numerous different package sizes can be provided withpouring elements. It is especially advantageous here if two entrainingbelts which are arranged one above it other and are designed to beadjustable in height relative to each other are used as the entrainingelement.

Finally, another teaching of this invention provides for the individualtreatment units through which the packages pass to be arranged in astraight line one after the other. In this way, the apparatus accordingto this invention can be especially small and can optionally also beused with filling machines with multiple parallel packaging linesdirectly side by side with other apparatuses of the same type.

The invention is described in greater detail below with reference to thedrawing which illustrate only one embodiment. In the drawing shows

FIG. 1: a side view of an apparatus according to this invention;

FIG. 2: a top view of the apparatus according to this invention;

FIG. 3: a detailed view of the apparatus according to this inventionfrom FIG. 2;

FIG. 4: a detailed view of the separator of the apparatus according tothis invention, consisting of the brake unit and the acceleration unit;

FIG. 5: a cross-sectional view of a pouring element carrier of theapparatus according to this invention;

FIG. 6: a sectional view along line VI--VI of the pouring elementcarrier from FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7: a preferred driving diagram of the apparatus according to thisinvention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the general design of the apparatus according to thisinvention. Packages 1 are conveyed on a conveyor chain 2 to a separator3 consisting of a brake unit 4 and an acceleration unit 5.

Brake unit 4 consists essentially of conveyor belts 6, which are guidedessentially around rolls and come in contact with the packages 1 fromboth sides, and the acceleration unit 5 consisting of two verticallyarranged pairs 7 of separation rolls adapted to the width of thepackage. The exact arrangement of the separator 3 is described again indetail in FIG. 4. It can be seen there that the packages 1 are supportedwith supporting plates (not shown) in the area of conveyor belts 6between their rolls.

The actual treatment sequence can be described best on the basis of FIG.3, where packages 1-1 to 1-6 from the brake unit 4 are shown in the"stopped" position on conveyor chain 2 which is moving in the directionof the arrow. Then when a package 1-7 leaves brake unit 4, it isaccelerated by the separating rolls 7 so that it is conveyed into theproper position within two entraining fingers 9 in the area of theentraining belts 8 (shown here in mirror image). In the embodiment shownin FIG. 3, which is preferred in this regard, the driving rolls of theconveyor belts 6 and those of the separating rolls 7 are connectedtogether effectively by means of intermeshing gearwheels (not shown indetail). The greater peripheral speed of the separating rolls 7 incomparison with the conveyor belt rolls which is necessary to achievethe separation effect is achieved by a larger outside diameter ofseparating rolls 7 accordingly. The spacing between the entrainingfingers 9 corresponds exactly to the spacing between two adjacentpouring element carriers (not shown in FIGS. 1 through 3), which aredescribed in greater detail below.

FIG. 1 also shows that a carrying chain 10, to which the above-mentionedpouring element carriers (not shown here) are attached, is arrangedabove the entraining belts 8 in the gluing station. They serve to holdand convey pouring elements 11, which are just indicated here and areconveyed to the pouring element carriers by a rail-like pouring elementconveyance 12 from a separating and aligning unit 13, which is known andtherefore merely indicated, to the correct position. Pouring elements 11are then coated with the required amount of adhesive from an adhesivesupply 15 by an applicator roll 14, which is also known, and glued tothe packages 1 in the proper position.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the pouring element carriers with the drawingreferences 16 in detail. The pouring elements 11 are held by spreadingclamps 18 which act against the force of a spring 17, where thespreading clamps 18 are operated by a pressure element 20 which is alsospringloaded and is operated by a roll 19. Pouring element carrier 16 islowered by a roll 19a which is rigidly connected to it. Pouring elementcarriers 16 are movably attached to carrying chain 10 by means of bolts(not shown) through two boreholes 21.

For gluing to packages 1, pouring elements 11 are pressed against thetop side of packages 1 by a pressure pin 22 which is present in eachpouring element carrier 16, and the spreading clamps 18 are spread apartto release the pouring elements 11. Pressure pins 22 are alsospring-loaded, and they are also activated by a pressure element 24activated by a roll 23.

Finally, FIG. 7 shows a preferred drive diagram which shows that thespeed of conveyance of the separating rolls 7 which form theacceleration unit 5 is greater than the conveyance speed of the conveyorbelts which form brake unit 4 and are driven by the same drive 25.

We claim:
 1. A method of machine application of pouring elements toflat-gabled packages filled with free-flowing products, where thepouring elements are glued to individually conveyed and sealed packages,said method comprising the steps of:horizontally conveying a successivearrangement of packages in an upright orientation; isolating saidpackages by braking and then accelerating said packages; introducingsaid isolated packages into an application station adapted to move alongthe conveyance path if a pouring element is present; applying anadhesive to said pouring element; and gluing and pressing said pouringelement to a predetermined area of each package, while said packagecontinues to move along said conveyance path.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said horizontally conveyed packages are successively arranged ina longitudinal direction.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein saidadhesive is of a hot-melt variety.
 4. A device for applying pouringelements to flat-gabled packages filled with free-flowing products, saiddevice comprising:a horizontally moving conveyor chain for guiding saidpackages; a separator for isolating said packages; an entraining elementhaving a number of spaced driving elements for conveying said isolatedpackages; a carrying chain disposed above said entraining element anumber of spaced pouring element carriers attached to said carryingchain, the spacing of said pouring element carriers on said carryingchain corresponding to the spacing between said driving elements on saidentraining element, said pouring element carriers adapted to apply saidpouring elements to said packages while said packages remain in motionon said entraining element; and a gluing station having a detector fordetermining the presence of a pouring element within any of said pouringelement carriers, and an applicator for applying an adhesive to saidpouring element if present.
 5. The device of claim 4, further comprisinga brake unit for stopping the conveyed packages on the moving conveyorchain, and an acceleration unit for accelerating said conveyed packageson the moving conveyor chain.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein saidbrake unit comprises at least two conveyor belts for acting on the sidewalls of several adjacent packages.
 7. The device of claim 5, whereinsaid acceleration unit comprises at least one pair of verticallyarranged separating rolls.
 8. The device of claim 5, wherein theconveyance speed of said acceleration unit is greater than theconveyance speed of said brake unit.
 9. The device of claim 5 whereinsaid brake unit, said acceleration unit and said entraining element arearranged in a straight line.
 10. The device of claim 4, wherein saidentraining element comprises at least one belt having driving elementscomprising projecting fingers, said fingers designed to convey saidpackages by contact with said package rear sides.
 11. The device ofclaim 4, wherein the conveyance speed of said entraining element isgreater than the conveyance speed of said conveyor chain.
 12. The deviceof claim 4 wherein each pouring element carrier has at least two clampsthat can be spread against a spring force to hold and release saidpouring element.
 13. The device of claim 4 wherein each pouring elementcarrier has at least one pressure element for pressing the pouringelement against the top of said package.
 14. The device of claim 4wherein an applicator roll is provided for applying an adhesive to saidpouring elements.
 15. The device of claim 4 wherein said separator, saidentraining element, and said conveyor chain or said carrying chain areadjustable, so that said device can apply pouring elements to packagesof different size.
 16. The device of claim 4 wherein said entrainingelement comprises two belts arranged one above the other, said beltsdesigned to be adjustable in height relative to one another.